TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE

Obvious typographical errors and punctuation errors have been corrected after careful comparison with other occurrences within the text and consultation of external sources.

As noted in the Preface, some [missing words] in the text have been added inside brackets [ ] in this edition. Many archaic and nautical terms are explained in the Footnotes.

On some handheld devices the two genealogical tables are best viewed in a small font or in landscape mode. An image of each table from the original text is also provided.

Footnotes [298], [319] and [322] are referenced more than once (they have multiple anchors).

Except for those changes noted below, all misspellings in the text, and inconsistent or archaic usage, have been retained. For example, Raleigh, Ralegh; sweet meats, sweetmeats; sea captain, sea-captain; connexion; throughly; cozened.

Pg xliii Footnote [73], 'see Rye' replaced by 'see Rye'.
Pg lxxiii, 'shipwrights a r no' replaced by 'shipwrights are no'.
Pg lxxvii, 'HNorthampton.' replaced by 'H. Northampton.'.
Pg lxxviii, 'HNorthampton.' replaced by 'H. Northampton.'.
Pg lxxxii, missing anchor [141] added to 'Appendix,[141] which are'.
Pg 45, 'any the materials used' replaced by 'any of the materials used'.
Pg 119, 'Richard[445] Sutton,' replaced by 'Richard Sutton,[445]'.
Pg 120, '3rd day of the same month' replaced by '3rd day of the next month'.
Pg 136, the sentence 'My son Joseph ... this year.' has been moved to the top of the paragraph from the middle of it.
Pg 153, 'of out Stowood' replaced by 'out of Stowood'.

Appendix IV, italic formatting of heading 'Charter to Shipwrights' removed for consistency with headings of other Appendices.

Index, 'Caesar, Sir' replaced by 'Cæsar, Sir'.
Index, 'Pett, Peter (son)' reference to page cxvii changed to xci.
Index, 'Trinity House', reference to page 314 changed to 214.

Some abbreviations used in the text are explained below:

AoAnno (in the year)
Cal. S.P. Dom.Calendar of State Papers Domestic
H.C.A.High Court of Admiralty
N.E.D.New English Dictionary (late 1800s)
N.R.S.Navy Records Society
P.R.O.Public Records Office
S.P.D.State Papers Domestic